The invention relates generally to a tray for receiving and storing sheets of web material. More particularly, the invention concerns an adjustable tray and method that can receive and accommodate various size configurations of web material, such as photographic film and paper.
Devices for storing and feeding sheets of paper are well known in the art. Such devices are commonly found in document processing equipment, such as copier machines, where sheets of paper are fed from a tray to an image development system where a pre-selected image is formed on the paper. Among several illustrative examples of this type of development are the ones disclosed in, for instance: U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,902, Dec. 22, 1992, titled xe2x80x9cPaper Storing Device With A Swingable Engaging Member And An Engaging/Detaching Mechanism,xe2x80x9d by Hashimoto, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,972, Nov. 25, 1975, titled xe2x80x9cSheet Stack Receptacle,xe2x80x9d by Miller; U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,570, Feb. 03, 1998, titled xe2x80x9cPaper Supply Cassette And Paper Supply Device Having Paper Supply Cassette,xe2x80x9d by Ouchi; U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,560, Aug. 21, 1973, titled xe2x80x9cAuxiliary Sheet Feeder,xe2x80x9d by Kapral et al.; and, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,311, Nov. 20, 1990, titled xe2x80x9cFeeder For Sheet-Feed Printing Machine,xe2x80x9d by Tsukimoto. The developments in the patents contemplate sheets of paper being fed from the tray to a processing device, such as a copier machine. However, to the surprise of the inventors, there appears to be no references that teach or suggest an adjustable tray into which paper of various sizes is align ably fed and stacked. Such applications could include sheets of paper fed from paper processing equipment, such as a chopper or slitter. The processed paper would then be stacked in the tray having novel and unobvious adjustable features for receiving paper of different dimensions and moved further down stream in a stacked array for further processing, such as inspection or packaging.
An existing practice for processing sheets of paper after processing includes feeding the sheets from a chopper into bins on an indexing conveyor. A shortcoming of this practice is that a full-time operator is required to remove each pack or stack of sheets as it was indexed to the last position. These packs are generally very cumbersome and can be as large as 35 mmxc3x9743 mm and could weigh 12 lbs. Moreover, the height of the index conveyor was 42 inches which causes ergonomic problems for the operator. The packs or stacks of paper had to then be accumulated on boards and then later transported to the next operation.
Therefore, a need persists in the art for a tray and method for receiving and storing sheets of paper that is adjustable to various widths and lengths of paper, can be quickly adjusted to accommodate various paper configurations, and is easy to use.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a tray that can receive and store sheets of web material, such as photographic paper and film, having a predetermined width and length.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tray having quick release and latch members for controlling width and length guide elements.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of feeding sheets of paper into an adjustable tray after the paper is processed.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the present invention, an adjustable tray for receiving and storing sheets of paper having a predetermined width and length, comprises a platform for stacking sheets of paper. A first lateral edge guide is arranged substantially normal to a second lateral edge guide on said platform. A width aligning guide member and a cooperating sheet receiving guide member are each arranged for movement on the platform. The width aligning guide member is adjustably movable along a first axis of the platform towards and away from the first lateral edge guide. The sheet receiving guide member is adjustably movable along a second axis of the platform towards and away from the second lateral edge guide.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of feeding sheets of paper into a tray includes the steps of providing the adjustable tray (described above) and at least one sheet of paper for feeding into the adjustable tray. The adjustable width and sheet receiving guide members are preset to correspond to a predetermined width and length of the sheets of paper being fed. The sheet of paper is positioned relative to a top edge of the second lateral edge guide so as to clear the top edge and then abut against a portion of the sheet receiving guide member. A leading edge of the sheet is then directed downwardly towards the sheet receiving guide member until the leading edge of the sheet contacts a portion of the sheet receiving guide enabling the sheet to settle on the platform bounded by the sheet receiving guide member, the first and second lateral guides and the width aligning guide member.
There are numerous advantageous effects of the present invention, including: the width of the product processed by the tray does not have to be equivalent to the length; the tray can accommodate various size configurations via use of a custom designed quick release/latch clip; the tray allows operator access for quick and easy removal of the product; and, the tray design allows sheets to be fed from a proprietary chopping machine into the trays in such a manner to stack the sheets uniformly with the sheet edges aligned, leaving no loose or wedged sheets.